John Edwards' OAC Petition to George Bush: End Genocide in Darfur

Catchawave

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Tue Nov-28-06 12:55 PM
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John Edwards' OAC Petition to George Bush: End Genocide in Darfur

From email, link to petition to Restore Moral Leadership:
http://oneamericacommittee.com/action/sign-petitions/email/darfur2

Since I last wrote to you in August about the genocide in Darfur, the conflict has only intensified. Since then, more children have been orphaned, more women and girls have been raped, and more acres of farmland have been destroyed.

The conflict in Darfur broke out in 2003 when small farmers took up arms to fight for a greater share of resources. The Sudanese government backed a militia group, known as the Janjaweed, that has brutally raped, tortured and killed 400,000 people and driven 2.5 million people from their homes. Now, the bloodshed is spilling over into Sudan's neighbors, Chad and the Central African Republic.

You may have heard me talk about the need to recapture America's moral leadership in the world. Once, America was respected and people around the globe looked to us for inspiration to make their lives better. Now, America is associated with the Iraq war, Abu Ghraib and Guant�namo Bay.

Darfur, as tragic as it is, presents America with the opportunity to show the world that we are making changes, care about human rights and still have the moral authority to lead. NATO forces -- if the U.S. stepped up to moral leadership -- could end the conflict immediately. America must also lead the way in getting NATO to establish a no-fly zone over the region to cut off supplies to the brutal Janjaweed militias. Please take one minute to help save a life in Darfur.

Tell George Bush to lead the effort to create a NATO force for Darfur NOW.

The African Union has 7,000 troops on the ground in Darfur to help end the violence and bring peace to the region. They are doing a heroic job, but they cannot succeed without support from the world community.

Recently, Sudan agreed to accept help from U.N. peacekeeping troops. But this is far from immediate action and many questions remain -- Sudan has still not agreed to the size of U.N. forces or the command structure it will accept. While the U.N. continues talks, the Janjaweed militias are burning down hundreds of rural villages, killing tens of thousands of people, and raping thousands of women and girls.

It's no secret that our credibility and reputation has been tarnished over the past six years. The Bush Administration squandered our country's military strength and resources in a reckless war and turned its back on people around the world that truly needed our help.

But it's not too late to begin to restore our credibility and reputation. The U.S. military's unique assets -- our airlift capabilities, logistical support and intelligence operations -- can and must be used to assist NATO peacekeeping in Darfur.

My two younger children, Emma Claire and Jack, are beginning to reach the age where they ask questions about what they hear on the news. When our children ask -- and years from now when our grandchildren ask -- each of us will have to answer for what we did to help the people of Darfur. Please take one minute to do what you can to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Tell George Bush to lead the effort to create a NATO force for Darfur NOW.

The Save Darfur Coalition has sent more than one million postcards to President Bush asking for the immediate deployment of a robust peacekeeping mission. It's clear that he needs to hear from many, many more of us. The time to save hundreds of thousands of lives in Darfur and begin to restore our credibility in the world is right now.

Thank you,

John

P.S. There is strength in numbers. Please forward this message to friends and family and urge them to contact President Bush immediately.